The things you can learn from a lullaby.

Shhhh... I whispered as I brought Jude's warm little head into my chest and cradled him in my arms. He rubbed his eyes and let out a yawn along with a small whimper. 

I wrapped him in his blanket and began to rock him while I played Nicole Nordman's 'you are good' softly in the back ground. (If you read my "keeping the home fires burning" blog back in jan 2010, you know this has been his favorite since he was born!)
As I listened to the song for probably the hundredth time, it kind of brought things home for me this time around.
I started thinking about how God has been so good to my family and me over the past year.
He has continued to pour out His grace and countless blessings on our lives and just like so many others, I sometimes take it for granted.
Personally, I don't want to take anything for granted anymore.
You can never be sure of what's around the next bend in this road of life.
Someone can be here one day and gone the next. You can love someone with all your heart and get nothing in return. You can trust someone and they will let you down. You can forgive someone and not be forgiven.
If we depend on man( our friends, spouses, children, etc.) or earthly things to fulfill us we are probably going to be disappointed.
People, and life especially, are so uncertain...but there is one thing you can be certain of: if you are depending on God to fulfill you you can have full confidence He will!
He's going to be right there with you wether you are scared, hurt, or lost along the way.
He won't let you down. He will always love you (even when you don't deserve it) and you will always be able to place your trust in Him; being confident He will never let you down.
And as for His forgiveness?
"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace."
Ephesians 1:7

Testing our faith

''Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.'' Romans 5:3-5

I was reminded this morning that we may not always see God's bigger plan, but we can rest in knowing that whatever we are going through- good or bad- He always has a reason for allowing us to go through it.

I wanted to share my morning devotion on my blogspot today....
First, because I'm greatful for God's faithfulness and steadfast love. It's incredibly comforting for me to know that God is always faithful in giving us exactly what we need through His word at precisly the right time.
He knows just what we need to hear in order to be encouraged;and to nudge us back on track when we lose focus Him.
Second, because It's important for us as believers to remember that no matter what we, or any of our brothers and sisters in Christ face- God can, will, and wants to use it to strengthen us.
And third, because far too often it's easy to forget that every single one of us is going to face some type of struggle in our lives simply because we are human. I know for myself that every single time I forget that, God allows me to go through whatever suffering it is until I realize that He is in control of my life, and that I will never take a single breathe apart from him or without needing to lean on Him and His word. I know that even though the suffering may seem like it will never end, I can be confident in the promise of Philippians 1:6- ''that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
 Click here for my morning devotion.

During the wee hours of this morning, my mind was filled with thoughts. I needed to take some time to sort them out- to pray and meditate on the things running steadily through it.
As I layed on the picnic table on my patio and gazed at the stars, my mind wandered to Psalm 147:2-5...
"The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit." 
The past few months, I have been beating myself up because of criticism from others; for feeling overwhelmed by all of my responsibilities, and for not being able to live up to my own expectations and the expectations of others.
I allowed my focus to be shifted to living for others rather than living solely for Christ and Christ alone. I feel like there are times in our lives when we become so consumed with the way others view us that we forget our purpose is not to be perfect Christians but to be understanding towards others, to show them the same grace, love and mercy that Christ has shown and continues to show for us.
I finally realized something as I was laying there on that picnic table under each of those stars that our God created, numbered and named. I realized that the moment we accept that we will not always live up to the expectations of others or ourselves, is the moment we can stop beating ourselves up and find true peace and rest in Christ, and the grace and mercy that He has so richly poured out upon our lives.
God knew we would never be perfect. That is why He sent his Son.
He knew that our time on earth would  be filled with trials of all sorts and that it would be especially difficult for us as believers.  He also knew there would be times of joy and sadness; triumph and dissapointment; times when we would need the truest kind of compassion, understanding and encouragement- the kind that we can only find in Him.
I believe Mr. C.H. Spurgeon said it best when he said,
 "The hill of comfort is the hill of Calvary; the house of consolation is built with the wood of the cross; the temple of heavenly blessing is founded upon the riven rock—riven by the spear which pierced His side. No scene in sacred history ever gladdens the soul like Calvary's tragedy . . . You who have had your seasons of conflict, will confess that it was not at Olivet that you ever found comfort, not on the hill of Sinai, nor on Tabor; but Gethsemane, Gabbath, and Golgotha have been a means of comfort to you. The bitter herbs of Gethsemane have often taken away the bitters of your life; the scourge of Gabbatha has often scourged away your cares; and the groans of Calvary yield us comfort rare and rich."
I know I may not be the perfect wife, mother, child, grandchild, or friend...or perfect at anything really; but I am created by a perfect, most holy, loving, understanding, compassionate Heavenly Father and with that knowledge, I can rest assured everything will be just fine!